The present invention relates to bicycle racks in general, and to providing methods for storing a bicycle of any wheel size.
The term “bicycle” will be used to encompass all two-wheeled vehicle of transport, including electrically-powered bicycles. The term “rack” and “stand” are used interchangeablely. Bicycle stands are well known and come in a variety of forms for both indoor and outdoor use.
The prior art offers a plethora of solutions to the problem of propping up and holding a stationary bicycle steady.
Various bicycle racks that hold a bicycle in an upright position have been proposed. In some cases, a wheel is guided into a channel or groove, thereby supporting the wheel so that the bicycle does not topple over. A sample of patents for such racks follows.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,111 to Pannella and titled “Bicycle Rack” describes a lockable bicycle rack having a channel member for holding the wheels, the channel having holes at the location of the wheels where a slidable U-shaped locking member and a central bar region join two end bars.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,465,196 to Erb and titled “Bicycle Rack” describes a bicycle rack made of a continuous piece of stiff wire bent into an M-shape in such a way that allows a tire to be wedged into it. The tire-wedging members are outwardly diverging and inwardly converging.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,277 to Tschritter and titled “Water-Filled Bicycle Rack” describes a hollow molded plastic body which may be filled with water or sand having an arcuate recess in an inclined front surface for admitting a bicycle wheel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,657 to McGuiness et al. and titled “Bicycle Stand” describes a molded or formed plastic body having receptacles for ballast and one or more grooves for receiving the wheel of a bicycle of one or more sizes. The patent refers to one or more grooves that are separate from one another and occupy different positions within the stand.
There is a need to address the issue of a bicycle stand that has the capability to prop up a bicycle by admitting multiple sizes of bicycle wheel.
It would be highly advantageous to have a single device for storing a range of bicycle sizes.